Tuesday, July 28, 2009

It has been a labor of love this year working away in the dirt when I get a few minutes here and there. Due to the lovely amount of rain gracing Ontario this summer my veggies are going crazy!! Now we just need a little bit of heat so the fruits can come out. The lettuce literally exploded out of the ground. We were eating salads for days just so it wouldn't go bad. I also have tons of fresh peas, which is great for my favorite Indonesian dish, Bahmi Goreng. I need to get in there today to pick out my heritage peas. This is my first time trying them in the garden and I'm looking forward to their taste. I have a bed full of potatoes... red, blue & yellow. My husband was slightly alarmed the other day when I served blue potatoes at dinner. He thought I had gone nuts!

As soon as the weather gets a bit warmer I expect my tomatoes will start coming out. It's been a little too cool for them as of yet. I'm also waiting on my kale, garlic, onion, carrots, fennel and pumpkin.

My favorite part of the gardening experience this year is my compost bin. I have been faithfully filling it and have used it to nourish the soil along with cow manure. I haven't used one bit of pesticides or fertilizer. Yeah for organic home gardening!! Best of all, there haven't been any bug infestations. However, I did use an alyssum border to attract the honey bees for better pollination. They are the only bugs allowed!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Did my fellow Canadian Clean Eaters happen to catch the last episode of Tosca: Flexing at 49 this weekend? What did you think?

I can't believe 8 episodes flew by so quickly. I hope you've learned something about the world of fitness and maybe a little bit more about who I am.

I really enjoyed how they finished the series with the final meal at home with my family. That's what it all comes down to... being able to feed your family healthy foods that bring you together and allow you to enjoy life.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Wow! Thank you to everyone who responded to my wisdom teeth post yesterday. You're all gems.

Kelsey-Lynn is recovering well. She was actually eating Jell-o and mashed potatoes a few hours after the surgery. Last night I treated her to some unbelievably natural ice cream. I purchased it as a treat from the Hockley Valley Herb & Tea Company in Caledon East. I had a little bite of the vanilla. WOW!!! Better keep that buried in the freezer so I can forget about it!! I also whipped up some Chocolate Tofu Mousse from the Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. She's also been having a lot of yogurt to keep the healthy bacteria around while she is on the antibiotics.

More than anything I wish I had taken a video of her while she was coming off the anesthetic. It was hilarious. She made no sense at all. She just kept on mumbling funny things and wanted to go shopping at Lululemon. Strange strange strange. 2 seconds later she fell into a very deep sleep with her tongue hanging out. It was pretty entertaining.

Last night we all gathered on the couch with her to watch movies and So You Think You Can Dance. It was a pretty quiet evening at the Eat-Clean household. If the weather would clear up we might be able to get outside... rain rain go away (although my veggie garden does look amazing because of it)!! This is Toronto's worst summer yet...

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I am heading to the dental surgeon today with my 18-year-old in tow. She is about to have all 4 wisdom teeth yanked from her mouth. Not fun. My mom was kind enough to whip up some delicious soup yesterday for my daughter to enjoy when she comes to after the anesthetic wears off. I am going to whip up some mashed potatoes when I get home, but I need some more ideas...

So I thought I would ask for your ingenious suggestions to help my little girl get through this yucky surgery.

Here's the catch.... she doesn't like fruit!! She'll eat every veggie under the sun, but getting her to eat fruit is like pulling teeth, and she's had enough of that today.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Happy Tuesday to all of you. It's a little gray in my neck of the woods, but I'm still smiling because my mom has come to visit for a couple of days. I spent yesterday spick and spanning the house (hence the floor scrubbing photo from yesterday). My washing machine was on overdrive! I always want things to be special for my mom when she visits so that she is comfortable. She's also Dutch and a bit of a clean freak just like me.

I had dinner with my best girlfriends last night. We celebrated my friend Lesley's birthday. You might recognize her name from the original Eat-Clean Diet cookbook... she is the creator of Lesley's Chicken Stacks. There were 14 of us dining at one of our favorite spots, Pasqualino Restaurant. We don't go out very often, but when we do it's very fun and I remember how much I like spending time with the ladies. Sigh!

However, I did miss out on the Beyonce concert my daughters attended last night. They were raving about it all morning before heading off to their respective jobs. Oh well, I'll catch her next time hopefully.

So I'm off to make a big salad for my mom and me before I get started on some writing for the rest of the afternoon. Just saying hello...

So Saturday's show was a tense one!!! It's amazing to relive it all over again... and just as frustrating as the first time. Competing is such a challenge and I felt out of my league and unprepared which totally threw off my game. I was a mess that day.

Most of you know the results at this point if you've been following my blog since the fall, but now you know exactly how I was feeling! Sometimes I wonder if I'm NUTS!!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Monday's shoot was incredible! It was such a departure from what we usually do with training and lifestyle shots. The weather held out and made it look like we were on location in a super tropical spot All the while we were shooting around Caledon East and in my backyard in Ontario! Not so tropical at all! We reviewed some of the images today and I was floored. They will be making their official debut on my revamped ToscaReno.com page. The revamp isn't done yet, but we are working away at upgrading and giving you more more more. Here are a couple of outtakes from the day to give you an idea of what shooting is all about.

Shooting on the patio...

Reviewing the shots with Vinita and Rachel to make sure we are on track...

Super stylist, Rachel, reviewing the clothing options for the day...

Caterers for the day... and my daughters, Rachel & Kelsey-Lynn. They made some delicious recipes from the upcoming Eat-Clean Cookbook...

This was one of my favorite looks of the day... sleek and sophisticated...

Monday, July 13, 2009

Once again I'm saying hello from a busy photo shoot. We've been enjoying lots of yummy eats from the upcoming Eat-Clean Cookbook as we recipe test and photo shoot at the same time. Thank goodness the sun is shining here in T.O. Have a great Monday!-T

Glad you all enjoyed the Portland pics from vacation. I am happy to have all my little ducks in a row at home... meaning my daughters. The house has definitely been much more lively with all the kids and 3 guests at home. I've been frequenting the grocery store because I can't stay on top of the amount of veg, fruit and eggs that are flying out of the refrigerator. We're also doing some recipe testing for the upcoming cookbook so the kitchen has been busy busy busy!!! So far the food is delicious. Last night for dinner we had tilapia, sweet & Yukon gold potatoes, asparagus with primavera sauce, and beet salad. The biggest compliment came from one of our guests who said you wouldn't even know it was healthy food because it tasted so good! Yeah.

Here are some images from the photoshoots on Tuesday and Wednesday. Us 3 ladies were pooped after two 12 hour days, but it was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to some great shots.

Enjoy!!

At Paul Buceta's studio...

Stylista pro, Rachel, showing off some hot suits!

My daughter, Kelsey, comparing her biceps to Mario's... hmmm...

Sabrina Rinaldi glamming up Anja for the shoot...

I'm touring Mario around Toronto today. Unfortunately, my usually pretty city is on a garbage strike so I'm wondering how it will smell.... yuck!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Breathing a sigh of relief. Photoshoots are done for the day and I finally have a second to sit down and get in touch with my blog. As I mentioned yesterday, my family and I had a wonderful adventure in Portland. We were there partly for vaca and partly to move my daughter out of her place. Enjoy the photos of our family fun in the city with bumper stickers that say "Keep Portland Weird."

Here my girls are cleaning out their sister's apartment. It wasn't too messy, but we did need to pitch in here and there! I'm just glad my daughters know how to use a sponge to clean up after themselves. At least I taught them something.

Waiting in line at a Portland hot spot... Voodoo Doughnut. It's like the Magnolia Bakery of this quirky west coast town. I can't say I indulged, but my daughters tried out the Cookies & Creme variety. This is the tamest compared to the rest of the options including one with maple icing and a piece of bacon on top!!

Temps in the 90s drove us to the beach... Cannon Beach that is. The water was frigid so we only dipped our toes, but we did work on our tans (through sunscreen of course). It was great to get out of the city and see the Pacific coast. It was rugged and beautiful.

Me and my husband enjoying the scenery from Chanticleer Point along the Historic Columbia River Highway. The young ones were awed by the Columbia Gorge mainly because they had seen it in the Twilight movie.

Another scenic shot at Multnomah Falls. The waterfall route along the historic highway is truly beautiful. The air is crisp and clean, the sun is glorious, and the scenery is second to none. Wow!

After a nightmarish travel day on Friday we finally made it back into Canada. Here we are with Air Canada agent extraordinaire, Carol, who helped us stay sane and get back on track throughout the ordeal. Thanks Carol... you're a gem!! We made it back in one piece luggage and all.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Saturday's Tosca: Flexing at 49 brought back some crazy memories. I managed to catch the episode on Sunday morning with my daughters. What did you think of little Leiden? I loved going back to my Dutch roots. Can't wait for next weeks episode. I wonder what it will be??

If you've been following my Twitter you are well aware we had some adventures on the way home from Portland, Oregon. What was supposed to be a 1-day journey from the west coast turned into a 2-day adventure with an overnight in Vancouver, BC. Our flights were delayed and rerouted and connections were missed. We were there for a vacation, but also to move my daughter out of her apartment, which meant we had 12 checked bags between the 6 of us, some of which were pretty overweight. There was lots of sweating, lots of running, and lots of sitting. Sometimes the airport is a breeze, and sometimes it just gets you! Luckily the Vancouver airport is open and airy with beautiful accommodations and friendly staff so we managed well for the evening.

I hit the ground running in Toronto as soon as we landed on Saturday at 5pm. My husband (who is under the weather at the moment) had 3 friends coming in from Germany and Hawaii. You know what it's like when you've been away for a week... groceries need to be bought, beds need to be made, luggage needs to be unpacked, (actually, it's still sitting in the hallway), toilet paper needs to be refreshed, etc etc. Thank goodness I had all my girls home to help me.

Our guests are settled, and now it's time to do the same for me but...

Today and tomorrow I am at a photoshoot.

At some point the laundry will get done. All I can say is at least there is food in the fridge, and supper on the table!

Here's to understanding what busy days are all about and being okay with not being superwoman enough to get it all done all the time...